The Myth of the Community Fix: Inequality and the Politics of Youth Punishment

A detailed examination of the limitations and pitfalls of pursuing the community-based reform movement in the American criminal justice system. As the extent of America's mass incarceration crisis has come into sharper view, politicians, activists and non-profit foundations from across the political spectrum have united around "community-based" reforms. Many states are pursuing criminal justice reforms that aim to move youth out of state-run prisons and into community-based alternatives as a way of improving the lives of youth caught in the juvenile justice system. In The Myth of the Community Fix, Sarah D. Cate demonstrates that rather than a panacea, community-based juvenile justice reforms have resulted in a dangerous constellation of privatized institutions with little oversight. Focusing on case studies of three leading states for this model of reform--Texas, California, and Pennsylvania--Cate provides a comprehensive look at the alarming on-the-ground consequences of the turn towards community in an era of austerity. Although often portrayed as a break with past practices, this book documents how community-based reforms are the latest in a long line of policy prescriptions that further individualize the problem of delinquency, bolster punitiveness, and reduce democratic accountability. Through contextualizing the community-based reform movement as part of the broader shift away from the centralized provision of public goods in the United States, Cate shows why those committed to addressing the problems of mass incarceration should be wary of the community fix.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: The Limits of the Community-Based Reform Movement: Evidence from Pennsylvania, California and Texas Chapter 1: Abandoning Public Goods: The Turn to Community in the Context of Inequality Chapter 2: Devolution, Not Decarceration: Expanding Punishment Closer to Home Chapter 3: Privatizing Punishment: Consequences of Foundation-Led Policymaking Chapter 4: The Individual Focus: The Limits of Behavioral Solutions to Structural Problems Chapter 5: Still Punitive: Rationalizing Punishment for the 'Worst of the Worst' Conclusion: Bringing Public Goods Back In References Index

About the Author :
Sarah D. Cate is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Seattle University. She received bachelor's degree in political science and English from the University of Oregon and a master's degree in political science from the University of Oregon. She earned a PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on mass incarceration, criminal justice reforms, and political economy.

Review :
The Myth of the Community Fix takes its reader deep into the guts of youth criminal reform that transfers justice to counties which in turn subcontract it to private foundations and operators. We discover how, in the name of "reform," administrative devolution translates into increased punishment, reduced rights, continuing abuse, and public irresponsibility while reinforcing individualized conceptions of crime. Cate makes an original contribution to the sociology of the penal state that is sure to stimulate further research and public debate. The Myth of the Community Fix is a crucial and timely intervention in the criminal justice reform conversation in the United States. Cate uniquely analyzes juvenile justice policy alongside trends in the US political economy. The case studies of popular bipartisan reforms in California, Pennsylvania, and Texas reveal that our long-term disinvestment in public goods leads local governments and community-based organizations to maintain or expand carceral capacity in the name of reform. This book challenges anyone concerned about mass incarceration to craft solutions that disrupt punitive political culture rather than reinforce the status quo. Sarah Cate's rich analysis shows how the community-control movement in juvenile justice reproduced the same problems of state-based institutions, but with even less political accountability. Situating juvenile justice reform within transformations in American political economy, such as privatization and welfare retrenchment, Cate reveals that devolution of juvenile institutions from state to county level control has been part of, not an alternative to, divestment from the public sector. This book is a devastating indictment of community-control models and a call to action for meaningful investment in public goods. It is recommended for libraries serving departments of political science, social work, and sociology.